Kazakhstan is about to launch its first domestically produced naval vessel, the country has announced. The missile boat, called the "Kazakhstan," was produced at the Zenit shipyards in Uralsk and will be launched into the Caspian by the end of April, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The ship "is designed to destroy surface ships, boats and transports of the enemy on their own and in collaboration with naval strike forces," said an MoD release.

The Kazakhstan will thus become the most powerful ship in the eponymous country's nascent navy, and the first that is really a naval ship, as opposed to a coast guard vessel. By next year, two more ships of the same class are scheduled to be launched as well. Kazakhstan naval officials had earlier said they were planning to buy three corvettes (a somewhat larger ship), as well, from South Korea, but little has been said about that lately.

The ship will have a displacement of 240 tons, has a top speed of 30 knots and is armed with "modernised anti-aircraft missile and artillery units," according to a report from CaspioNet, where you can also see a video interview with the ship's captain.